MANILA, Aug 18 (PNA) — Disgusted with others who have no business but meddles into the affairs of the country’s initiatives to make the Philippines a better nation for all who sojourn here, President Rodrigo R. Duterte has urged the United Nations not to dip its fingers in the investigation of deaths allegedly committed by policemen aside from telling Senator De Lima to stop making stories about him.
President Duterte said “United Nations (UN) does not have any business investigating human rights violations of the police. You don’t come here investigate the deaths of criminals and those suspected na sabi nila pinatay ng mga pulis (suspected to have been killed by the police) when after all we have also lost a sizable amount of our security forces in govt.”
There is no such thing as genocide happening in the country, he said as he pointed out the definition of genocide as the deliberate killing of a large group of people, especially those of a particular ethnic group, race or nation.
He said there are mass killings in other countries and mentioned of Middle East where men, women and children are killed and hospitals being bombed other than the thousands killed in Thailand due to drugs, yet not even the President of the UN spoke and reacted to it nor complained.
Duterte however said that he has ordered an investigation on every killing, which is a result of an encounter, in a bloody encounter. The investigation, he said will not be done by the investigation section of the same office where the policeman is connected with, but the probe will be done by the Internal Affairs office and or the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG)
Reiterating his earlier order for the law enforcers to perform their functions legally, he however said that they have to cover their tracks and make sure that they are safe while performing their duties.
The police, he said, do not go patrolling alone, they go in groups and when they have to operate, such should be aboveboard. “Pagkalumaban, kaysa maunahan kayo, mauna na kayo,” he said
PRRD talked about the killings, which according to some has reached hundreds and said that “those who are killed by rivals. Ang nangyari kasi sa kanila to save themselves, tinuturo nila ang iba, they feed the government with the wrong information, tinururo nila iba para sila maka eskapo or their protectors who are policemen also,” which could be reason they are killing each other.
Going into the extent of tying the hands of victims and wrapping the body with plastic, he said, is not the doings of the police as it is a waste of time for people who have so many things to do to comply with the orders to make the country safe and secured.
President Duterte’s reaction came in the light Senator Leila De Lima’s statement during the week saying that President Rodrigo Duterte may be charged with crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague for the spate of drug-related deaths.
Duterte said, “we are fighting criminals here (who are) destroying the lives of people. When my country is a stake, do not fuck with me.”
He slammed De Lima, who for the first time was identified by the President after earlier just referring to her as “the lady”, who projects to be the conscience of the country, but is well involved in illegal activities such as being “involved” with her driver who is married and who serves as her collector.
“You keep on slandering me. I kept quiet because you are a lady, sumobra ka na,” he said.